Arsenal Vs Borussia Dortmund | Champions League 23/11/2011

[Zedie]

Havent heard one arsenal chant so far...

thats because arsenal is in north not north west london
sing up lad

When i can afford it, i get down there. When i get down there, the world knows who i support.

50,000 gooners being outsung by 7000 Dortmund fans in our own language, in our own back yard takes the piss.

im at the point of taking a vavuzula to the Grove...

[Inchpräctice]

gervinho has to be the worst player when hes in the box I have ever seen.

Alex Hleb

Boom. That guy could not shoot.

hleb was bad but gervinho has zero composure in 1 on 1 situation withoutrobin to pass back too

gervinho found santos well enough for his goal at chelsea.

Actually that was Song.

Can't believe starman made a mistake......

[Inchpräctice]

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... r-reaction

Wenger: 'Goals come naturally to Robin'


on another Robin van Persie brace…
He is in a period where of course he doesn't have to look for goals - they just come naturally for him. He is always in the right place at the right moment and he got two goals again tonight from positions that look easy but they are not. He just understands the game so well.

on the match…
Overall it was a good game, Dortmund are a good team. They started stronger than we did but we needed to be patient, intelligent and I think in the second half we increased the tempo of our passing and controlled the game. Slowly you could feel that we could make the difference.

on conceding late…
This time it didn't make a difference. They scored because we lost our focus and concentration. Overall we controlled it well, our defence played well and they had very few chances. We knew the game was over and just became a bit too easy.

on qualifying…
The groups are difficult for the Premier League teams. The level in Germany has gone up a lot. We were in a difficult group and I am very happy and pleased if you see where we came from. We drew Udinese in the qualifier and you could not bet that we could go like we did. Overall I am very happy because we came out from a very difficult period because we were focused, worked hard and were united together.

on being the first English team to qualify…
Manchester United could have qualified last night and of course everybody expected Man City to qualify but we are the first team. It's difficult at this level against anybody - you never win an easy game in the Champions League. I have played 150 games as a manager in the Champions League and every single game gives you a different problem.

on Alex Song's performance…
I was complaining for a long time that we did not score enough goals from set-pieces. So I am very pleased that we did tonight. But I still think we have some room for improvement. But I agree with you completely that Song was exceptional for a defensive midfielder with the first goal. I am pleased for him because we had quite a difficult start in midfield in the first half and we took over in the second half.

on the threat of injury to Van Persie…
At the moment I believe that Robin is an exceptional player. He takes advantage of our offensive style from the wings. We create a lot of chances but I don't deny that at the moment he is the one who scores all the goals. We hope we can keep him fit and with us for a long time.

on what he saw in him for the captaincy…
What I saw in him is that he speaks his mind, he is completely focused on football and thinks day and night about the game. He is completely dedicated. It is not always obvious to put a striker as captain because he is in front of everybody. He was vice captain last year and was then captain while Fabregas was out.

on Gervinho's form…
He is vital for us because Robin likes to go to the ball and Gervinho likes to go into the space so they always push defenders back. That gives us space in midfield to create for Robin. He was a bit less sharp tonight but overall I am very happy.

on Mertesacker's performance…
I thought he had a great game tonight. I tried to analyse his performance against Norwich and I felt he was more tired from the Germany game against Holland. He didn't make bad decisions but his reaction time was not right. It was more down to fatigue.

[starmandb]

Up goes the volume - Why can't our fans be like this all game? The terrace lads managed it!

i,m sorry mate but you have the rose tints on
winterslag when we won 2-1 but went out on the away goal
22,000.
clockend more concerned with slagging off raphael meade than getting behind the team

[Zedie]

I remember reading a breakdown about gervinho by a french sport reporter before we signed him, saying he used to get a bit of stick because he would always get himself into great positions but then waste the opportunity.

the journo did however say that because hes so good at getting into those positions, he usually gets another chance to stick it away.

I think the pressure cooker atmosphere at the club is probably putting a lot of fans on edge, and any sub par performances are being pounced on before players even have a chance to bed in.

Looks like merts and gerv are going to be the new fall guys now that comedy eboue and Denilson have left/nearly left..

[ThereIsBearCüm]

haven't seen the game yet, but sounds like we played well
good to be through with top spot guarenteed

[starmandb]

38 goals in 41 games in 2011 for RVP (all comps).

Are you sure about this? I thought it was the other way around! (41 in 38)

Just repeating what the bimbo on Sky said.....

Could easily be wrong.

no
the lady is right

[Inchpräctice]

38 goals in 41 games in 2011 for RVP (all comps).

Are you sure about this? I thought it was the other way around! (41 in 38)

Just repeating what the bimbo on Sky said.....

Could easily be wrong.

no
the lady is right

She's no lady.

I can vouch for that.

[Swan]

guess i must repeat this..

seriously i think i would give him a BJ if he asked... wow i love that guy... RVP is the man

[starmandb]

Havent heard one arsenal chant so far...

thats because arsenal is in north not north west london
sing up lad

Ooh, you can be so cruel!

If I'm honest, I never heard them from here either.......

the dortmund fans were fantastic
they looked impressive bouncing up and down and had a good line in patter when they took a corner .
for us it was like countless home games where you turn up sing as loud as you can but get fed up being a lone voice.
your experiences are different to mine mate
apart from the big days and nights we have never had a loud crowd.
always sound louder when we are away.
i remember sunderland outsinging us in the 73 semi at hillsbrough.even at 10 i thought if we can,t get up for a semi we never will

[Fabrestuta]

First the good. Song had his best game in a while, his footwork for the first was sublime, van Persie just cannot stop scoring, Kos was great at RB, we bossed the second half for the most part. We have won the group and thats all that matters.

Now the bad. 53,000 Gooners completely embarrassed on home turf by 7000 Germans, Gervinho was pants and should have been replaced much earlier, the lacksidaisical way we gave up a goal right at the death. I hope Ches bashed some skulls in the dressing room for that.

All in all a good day except when lady Fab came home and because of the whistling etc when we had the ball I had to tell her that no Dortmund were not the home team.

[starmandb]

gervinho has to be the worst player when hes in the box I have ever seen.

Alex Hleb

Boom. That guy could not shoot.

hleb was bad but gervinho has zero composure in 1 on 1 situation withoutrobin to pass back too

gervinho found santos well enough for his goal at chelsea.

Actually that was Song.

Can't believe starman made a mistake......

yes,, sorry you are right
it was rvps 1st that gervinho set up
i guess the fella is right
gervinho is only any good for setting up rvp
can,t see that ever working then?

[Git]

Sven Bender broke his jaw walking into The Verminator.

f**k me.

[CrimsonGunner11]

Just finished watching the game and what a game! Did not expect that kind of performance from us especially since Dortmund came off a victory over Munich. The fact that Dortmund actually played admirably (imo) and we were still able to pick up the three points further proves how well we played. Here's my take on the game:

*I'm loving Kos at RB! The guy never stopped working and you could tell he played his heart out when he got subbed off
*Theo was a constant threat on the right side. Gave Schmelzer nightmares for days
*Ramsey, Arteta, and even Santos didn't put a foot wrong on the day. Their ball control was absolutely sublime. Yossi too was magnificent when he came on. I would actually consider keeping him if it wasn't for his age.
*What an assist from Song! and this coming after I posted this the other day:

Regarding Song:
I'm sometimes surprised at the number of chances Song creates for us (goals, assists, etc.), especially considering that he's a defense midfielder.

Song would have had a man of the match performance imo if it wasn't for his and Djourou's mistake that led to their goal.
*Vermaelen was solid as usual at the back and even got an assist. He also isn't afraid to press forward which is one quality I really like about him
*This is the second time Gervinho has dribbled the keeper and not score . Wouldn't say it was his fault though as Hummels tracked back well
*Captain Van Perferct - Need I say more

Can't believe we've qualified top of our group and this is, imo, the second toughest group after City's

[Arsenal~Fanatic]

I don't know if i am knee-jerking but RVP needs some respite ,when it comes to scoring goals . We know
Walcott can score ,after all he is a striker playing in the wings but what about Gervinho . When you play with
a front three , scoring ability is a necessity and not a luxury for the guys on the flanks . I cannot believe how
Gervinho missed such a wonderful opportunity and this was not the first one he has missed this season . You know
at the top level ,you cannot get more time than that to get it past the keeper and Gervinho dithered/hesitated
which allowed Hummels to intervene. RVP is in a purple patch right now , but at some point in the season, guys on
the flanks need to do their share of scoring to take some pressure of RVP . It looks like Gervinho has shivers down
his pants when he comes across a goalie in a one and one situation . He easily is the worst of the wide-forwards in
red and white when it comes to scoring/shooting in a long long time .I do not believe it is just confidence . He
does not have the technique to curl the ball around keeper or the technique to keep the ball down from a distance
with pace. He has forged a brilliant understanding with RVP and his link up play is great . He has good pace and
movement but i am afraid all comes to nothing especially when you are employed in a position where you are
expected to chip in with goals . I think he needs to work a lot harder on his technique and confidence will follow .